Forbes Ranks Maine’s Best Colleges: Here are the Top Picks

Maine is wonderfully represented by a wealth of institutes for higher learning. Whether private or public, the quality is high, with many being nationally recognized.

Some of that recognition can be found in the latest Forbes Top 500 list, which is always a fun read for numerous reasons, including bragging rights.

The Forbes rankings are more than just bragging rights. The media giant closely analyzes thousands of American colleges in an attempt to find the cream of the crop, using categories like graduation rates, low-income student opportunities, graduate salaries, and many others. You can read more about the methodology here.

Forbes Magazine Top Maine Colleges

Maine performed relatively well in this year's rankings, securing four spots on the list. This includes three private schools and one public. Let's take a closer look at Maine's rankings.

25. Bowdoin College - Brunswick
The Midcoast private school is Maine's highest-ranked institution. One of the "Baby Ivies," it is noted for excellent graduate job placement and generous financial aid packages. It's great to see it make the Top 25.

80. Bates College - Lewiston
The second of the three "Baby Ivies," Bates moved up to the Top 80 this year. Bates is known for encouraging student creativity and research. The school also offers a "short term" in the spring, providing more immersive learning experiences.

145. Colby College - Waterville
Located in Central Maine, Colby just made it into the Top 150. The school receives accolades for encouraging students to explore the state, and it focuses on helping graduates secure internships and fellowships.

413. Maine Maritime Academy - Castine
The only Maine public university on the list, this specialized school in Downeast develops officers and engineers for the nautical field.

READ MORE: We Ranked the Mascots of All the Maine Colleges and Universities

This is a respectable showing for Maine, although I’m a little surprised the Baby Ivies are further down the list than we typically expect. It’s also kind of insane that Maine’s flagship public university didn’t make the list. UMaine Orono absolutely deserves to be ranked—hell, they probably should be for the engineering department alone.

Forbes Magazine Top Overall Colleges

As for the Top 10, here you go...

1. Princeton University
2. Stanford University
3. MIT
4. Yale
5. Cal
6. Columbia University
7. Penn
8. Harvard
9. Rice
10. Cornell

Wow, not one school with a football team worth a damn. Boring.

You can see all 500 ranked schools here.